The present invention relates to a machine for washing balls and the like in high volume. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a golf ball washing machine which accepts a plurality of golf balls in bulk and scrubs the balls individually.
Prior art machines for washing a plurality of small round objects such as golf balls, eggs, fruit and the like are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 665,201, 2,691,786 and 3,038,186. The washing machines illustrated in these patents share a common feature in that they utilize a brush or other scrubbing component which rotates about a vertical axis and sandwiches balls and the like between the brush periphery and a surrounding cylindrical shell. An inner helical track extends between opposite ends of the shell, and as the brush is rotated and scrubs the balls, the track aids in moving the balls through the shell to a discharge point. The prior art machines in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,691,786 and 3,038,186 move the balls upwardly through the shell and thus utilize the full effect of gravitational forces to maximize the scrubbing action of the brush which advances the balls through the machine.
In each of the prior art patents a special feed mechanism is utilized to introduce the objects to be cleaned into the scrubbing unit. The feed mechanisms commonly have hoppers which are attached to one side or the top of the machine and a gravity feed duct which leads from the hopper into the scrubbing unit. The feed hoppers and ducts are employed to separate or break up a plurality of balls into smaller groups that can be satisfactorily ingested by the scrubbing unit. Ideally, one would prefer to avoid or minimize the additional structure associated with the feed mechanisms and thereby achieve a more compact machine. However, it is generally not practical to feed a plurality of loose objects in bulk into a machine without a feed mechanism which breaks down the plurality into smaller, more manageable groups.
It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to provide a washing machine for balls and the like which is compact in structure and efficient in operation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a washing machine which can handle a large quantity of ball-like objects in bulk and process such objects individually at high speed through a scrubbing unit.